"Forget it... I’ll go take a look with him."

And on the way, I can think through my next move.

The awakening of this talent had completely disrupted Lu Cang’s original plans.

He glanced up at the sky again.

Even now, he could vaguely see translucent layers peeling away, as if the heavens themselves were shedding skin.

Somewhere beyond sight, divine authorities were clashing.

The sky was not truly bright and serene at all...

Forget it.

I should stay far away from trouble and just run.

To hell with Lottie. To hell with this so-called Primordial Forbidden Magic.

At the end of the day, there wasn’t only one Primordial Forbidden Magic—this one was simply the first "Time" forbidden magic he had ever heard of...

And wherever there were gains, danger followed.

If he ran into another existence on Lottie’s level...

He didn’t know if he could survive it.

The risk of death was too great.

Better to develop steadily.

Yeah.

Decision made.

To hell with Lottie.

Buy passage today.

Leave this continent tonight—

At the latest, tomorrow morning.

Go straight to the Land of Moon-Seeing.

Whatever struggle over Moon Essence was happening here had nothing to do with him.

Over there, maybe he could advance to Level 6 Mage. Level 6 Warrior...

Then set sail and head directly for the World-Center Tree.

And along the way—

No more meddling in anything unrelated to me.

Lu Cang made up his mind.

At the same time, he followed behind Yoinri toward the wooden door deep underground.

"A wooden door?"

"There aren’t any restrictions here, Yoinri?"

Standing before the door, Yoinri laughed openly.

"Nope, no restrictions."

As he spoke, he rotated several wooden knobs embedded in the door.

Rumble—

The gate slowly opened.

Lu Cang swept his perception inside.

The interior was packed with incomparably sophisticated mechanisms.

Though...

Was there any point?

With a single punch, he could blow through the entire wooden door anyway.

Beyond the door—

Scroll after scroll of archives.

"These are all records left behind by generations of cryptology enthusiasts."

"We Decipher Scholars spend our lives probing the mysteries of the world... Our association may look small, and we don’t have many people, but our history is actually quite ancient."

"Even the Mage Association wasn’t founded much earlier than us."

Oh~

That was genuinely old.

He had heard the current Mage Association was founded five thousand years ago, considered the beginning of modern history.

Before those five thousand years...

There was a minor historical fracture.

Almost no one knew what had happened before that.

Most archaeologists devoted their lives to researching that lost era.

It was known as—

The Forbidden History.

And even with the efforts of all archaeologists in the world, records of that era remained vanishingly scarce.

"This scroll..."

Lu Cang’s perception passed over a nearby secret record.

"Oh, that one records a relic near the Fallen Abyss."

"I had a diviner friend explore it once. After she came back, she left that record."

Lu Cang immediately asked,

"A diviner friend?"

Yoinri nodded.

"Yeah. Quite an impressive diviner."

"What’s her name?"

"Pamelier. A diviner like me, though she’s a Level 6 Diviner."

Lu Cang asked,

"What does she look like?"

Yoinri scratched his head.

"Do you know my friend or something? Why are you suddenly asking in such detail?"

Lu Cang laughed.

"Nothing. I just have... certain stereotypes about diviners."

Yoinri burst into laughter.

"Hahaha! I get it. Mysterious weirdos, right? Always messing with people. Incredibly annoying."

That was...

Actually true.

So diviners were the same everywhere.

Human civilization had somehow reached consensus on that.

"My diviner friend is a green-haired elf. A stunning beauty too... Want to see a picture?"

Hearing that answer, Lu Cang felt oddly relieved.

"No... no need."

A purple-haired short-cut figure flashed through his mind.

He asked again,

"When did she enter that relic?"

Yoinri answered,

"Hmm... about three years ago."

Three years...

Lu Cang unfolded a map and drew a circle.

"You mean here?"

Yoinri looked at the marked location and nodded.

"That’s the place."

"Plenty of people have gone there."

"Some return. Some don’t."

"They say the relic hides secrets about time, though ordinary people can’t comprehend them."

Secrets of time.

That much was certainly true.

Though they probably had no idea it related to Primordial Forbidden Magic.

Lu Cang asked,

"How did they get out?"

Yoinri replied,

"It should all be in the records."

"Just read them."

Unexpected gain.

There were too many books in this world.

Too many secrets.

In a vast place like Hollow Vale, Lu Cang obviously didn’t have time to read everything.

If Yoinri hadn’t brought him here—

He never would have noticed this underground chamber.

It looked utterly inconspicuous.

And beneath this city, underground structures formed a labyrinth.

Almost every building had basements, hidden rooms...

A tiny cellar beneath a Decipher Enthusiasts Association was easy to overlook.

"Oh?"

He opened the dossier.

The first line read:

"All unwillingness shall find redemption."

"The first trial here concerns a Corridor of Time."

Oh!

Now this—

This was the kind of straightforward introduction he liked.

Tell me directly what’s inside the relic.

"I heard faint weeping in the corridor."

"I heard distant sighs."

No—

Why are you writing things unrelated to how to clear the relic?!

Write something useful!

Lu Cang kept reading.

This person had actually reached quite deep into the relic...

Yet the entire record was full of "calls," "salvation," all sorts of cryptic nonsense.

Still—

The relic didn’t seem very dangerous.

Mostly puzzles.

And if you didn’t delve too deeply within a set time, an exit would appear and let you leave.

Lu Cang looked at Yoinri.

"Yoinri."

"Is there more intelligence on this relic?"

It didn’t seem to be some secret location.

"Oh! So you’re interested in this relic’s records?"

"It does have quite a history."

"But people always go in and come out empty-handed."

"No results."

"Though the puzzles are fascinating."

"If you want records, I can find you more. Besides my friend, lots of others explored it too."

"Their exploration journals are in this room."

"If you want to understand it, start with those."

...

Why did information like this have to fall into his lap now of all times...

He had already decided to leave.

To abandon this Primordial Forbidden Magic.

Even if that meant his two accumulated wishes stayed sealed for a long time—

Still safer than facing unknown danger.

But why obtain this information right now?

It felt as though invisible fate were pushing him forward.

And if the relic truly wasn’t that dangerous...

He really did want to try.

Conventional methods probably couldn’t solve his predicament anymore.

What he needed—

Was unconventional means.

Besides leveling further and gaining more God-Tier talents,

Primordial Forbidden Magic belonged to that category.

And if he could release those two wishes—

He might even erase hidden dangers through wishing.

"...Then I’ll take a look," Lu Cang agreed.

Yoinri smiled.

"If you plan to explore it too, I can help connect you with some Decipher Scholar expedition teams. They can protect you."

Adventurer teams...

Right.

Decipher Scholars weren’t known for combat power.

Hiring adventurers for dangerous ruins was standard.

Though in truth, Decipher Scholars often already had close ties with adventuring parties.

Many dungeons required decryption.

And Decipher Scholars were highly valued in teams, often replacing Observer- or Scholar-type roles.

"No need for an adventuring party."

"I know one myself."

Yoinri rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Fair enough. Then I’ll get you more information."

"When you return from the relic... could you write down what you saw too? I’d like to keep a record."

Lu Cang nodded.

"Sure."

Easy enough to agree.

If he later changed his mind, Yoinri probably wouldn’t even remember.

Though unless there was something worth hiding—

Lu Cang intended to honor it.

Compared to those cold, towering white towers—

The Decipher Enthusiasts Association felt strangely warm.

At least this local "guildmaster"-like figure was enthusiastic, eager to explain everything.

Lu Cang swept his perception around.

With a raise of one hand—

Scrolls floated into the air.

Rustle—

He opened multiple records at once.

Perception scanned all of them simultaneously.

Absorbing every scrap of knowledge.

"Cavity of Time."

"Echo Corridor."

"Realm of Riddle-Time."

...

Everyone called the relic something different.

Its name changed depending on what they saw inside.

The first puzzle—

Different for everyone.

Yet all shared one feature.

Everyone entered an endless corridor.

Some escaped by reading clocks in the hallway.

Exits appeared on walls at specific times and positions.

Walk through the right wall at the right moment—

And leave.

Others simply waited a specific length of time before moving.

Then escaped.

Different people.

Different approaches.

All pointed toward one thing—

Time.

Every puzzle was different.

But after reading these experiences, Lu Cang only felt—

Not hard.

If this was the level of difficulty—

He could solve it easily.

While leaving the first corridor,

People heard distant calls.

Saw vague figures.

Only a handful of records showed anyone escaping it.

And in the second area—

Again, everyone’s experience differed.

Only three people reached the second zone.

One of them was the diviner he had just read about.

Lu Cang tried extracting patterns.

Was it testing the heart?

Combat power?

Pure puzzle-solving?

Since it involved Primordial Forbidden Magic—

Likely something related to magic.

He reasoned internally.

One person appeared in a desert.

One in an ice field.

One in a bustling city.

Only the person in the ice field reached the third area.

The others never even found the puzzle.

And that sole person—

Was Yoinri’s friend.

The one who reached the third zone...

Wasn’t a Decipher Scholar.

But a Diviner.

Yet ironically, her records contained the least useful information.

Mostly travelogue impressions.

Regional scenery.

Personal feelings.

Heh...

Diviners are really insufferable.

Still—

If diviners had an advantage...

As a Prophet, I should too.

The third area—

An infinitely repeating stretch of time.

That diviner remained there for some period...

Then left.

No reason recorded.

...

In the end—

Still full of mysteries.

But at least one thing was clear.

It was a place you could enter and leave freely.

So many had gone there.

At least my arrival alone won’t change anything.

And the relic had existed for decades...

Unlikely a trap designed specifically for me.

Tap tap tap—

Yoinri returned carrying a mountain of books and scrolls.

"Yoinri, why don’t you use a storage pouch?"

Yoinri answered,

"Don’t you think carrying this much research looks magnificent?"

Lu Cang paused.

"...I suppose."

A few dark thoughts flickered through his mind—

Kill him.

Take all his secrets.

Claim everything.

But conflicting thoughts rose immediately and suppressed them.

The murderous impulse sank back down.

Lu Cang accepted the materials Yoinri enthusiastically offered.

...

So only two people had actually reached the third area.

It seemed profound temporal knowledge was required.

Mastery of history.

And mastery of the future.

Mastery of the future...

That was practically a diviner’s specialty.

No wonder she reached the third zone.

She really did have an edge over ordinary Decipher Scholars.

As for magical trials—

Very little appeared in the records.

But after all this...

The terror of the unknown had largely faded.

"Yoinri."

"When I come back, let’s continue researching turning monsters into humans."

Yoinri brightened.

"Absolutely! If you want to research that with me, I’m always welcome to it!"

His enthusiasm stirred something in Lu Cang.

Ever since leaving the Secret Sea—

He had constantly been on guard.

Wondering who wanted him dead.

Sigh...

Those carefree days...

How nostalgic.

With a silent sigh—

His figure vanished.

A few flickers later—

He was already outside the city.

Barely a dozen minutes later—

He stood once more at the relic entrance.

This time—

The ghost-like figure from before was nowhere to be seen.